The absence of Nandini Azad’s name from the list of the members of the reconstituted women committee of NCUI has become an issue which is being discussed not only in the cooperative but also in the political circles. Ms Azad is the Chairperson of the women committee of international co-op body ICA Asia-Pacific and omission of her name means India loses a prized position on the international forum.
It bears recall that recently elected President of NCUI Dileep Sanghani reconstituted several committees including Women Committee, in which Nandini Azad was not re-nominated. The issue gained prominence since Azad still has about two years of her tenure left as the Chair of the ICA AP. She was elected in December 2018 for a tenure of 4 years.
The Governing Council meeting of apex co-op body NCUI sprang a surprise on members when the name of Sudhir Mahajan, a promoted IAS officer of UT cadre was announced as the next Chief Executive.
A 2005 batch (AGMUT) IAS officer, Mahajan came back from Goa last year in August to join as Special Secretary (Urban Development), Govt of Delhi. Mahajan who is set to retire in a week’s time from the govt services, is said to be NCUI Vice-president Bijender Singh’s choice.
The announcement of his name and the strong advocacy for him by Bijender Singh in the GC meeting caught many of the GC members unawares. Though none of the members spoke against his appointment, a few of them spoke of their uneasiness at the unprecedented speed in appointing him.
The absence of Nandini Azad’s name from the list of the members of the reconstituted women committee of NCUI has become an issue which is being discussed not only in the cooperative but also in the political circles. Ms Azad is the Chairperson of the women committee of international co-op body ICA Asia-Pacific and omission of her name means India loses a prized position on the international forum.
It bears recall that recently elected President of NCUI Dileep Sanghani reconstituted several committees including Women Committee, in which Nandini Azad was not re-nominated. The issue gained prominence since Azad still has about two years of her tenure left as the Chair of the ICA AP. She was elected in December 2018 for a tenure of 4 years.
The Governing Council of apex co-op body NCUI is meeting today at its headquarters in Delhi. While leaders like Dileep Sanghani, Chandra Pal Singh and Bijender may join the meeting physically, many others would join from their respective locations through the web.
Among other things , the issue of a salary hike for the Project employees is on the agenda. According to sources, the salaries of these employees may register a growth of 25-30 percent, which on average means an increase of Rs 10,000 per month per employee.
It bears recall that the salaries of Project Staff-members are shared on a 50:50 basis between the government and the NCUI. According to sources, the need to raise salary was partly felt as a part of the govt funds lies unutilized. NCUI has either to raise salary or return the money, said an insider.
To create mutually beneficial relationship and Capacity Building for the Cooperative sector, the agri cooperative giant NAFED signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Centre for Cooperatives & Livelihood (CCL), Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie. It was signed at the headquarters of Nafed in Delhi.
Under the MoU, NAFED will provide seed capital to LBSNAA’s corpus. The MoU will give an impetus to the ongoing research on the role of the Cooperative movement specifically in the area of Agriculture & Agribusiness promotion, with the objective of doubling farmers income & will enhance livelihood generation at the grassroots level.